‘A wonderful place for a stay in the Peak District’, the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire’s Derbyshire hotel offers a taste of country house living a stroll from their magnificent Elizabethan pile.

Between the charm, the picturesque location and the five star service, it is little wonder that weddings here are extremely popular. Medieval features, roaring fires in winter, wood panelled walls and award-winning food, makes for exquisite occasions, whether it’s for two or 100 people to enjoy.

The name doesn’t lie. There’s plenty of good cheer, from falcons to fireworks, for guests at this 19th-century mansion. With four rooms for civil ceremonies, and a host of atmospheric local churches, celebrations can embrace the main house or use a marquee for large parties.

‘Fay ce que voudras’ reads a motto on the porch of Tim and Stefa Hart’s Victorian picturesque country house, an invitation to do as you please, and this year, as ever, readers have been pleased by their stay here.

This quintessential English country house with spa, pools, kids' club, elegant bedrooms and fun tree houses, hits all the right luxurious notes for a romantic or family stay.

A single-storey hotel enfolded in a gorse-clad valley, a stroll through National Trust land to the eponymous cove, has been in the Makepeace family for three generations.

First-time visitors can't help but stand and stare at this exquisite country house, with its William and Mary symmetry and 20 acres of gardens and parkland.

A photographer’s dream, this Elizabethan manor house stands in gardens and parkland, with mountain views. A spa, oak-panelled drawing room, romantic four-poster suite, stone cottages with roses round the door. . . What more could you ask?

Where the road ends and the Irish Sea begins, this former Victorian hunting lodge with a private cove is secluded, unapologetically traditional and rich in comforts and good food.

‘Over five decades the dear old George has never missed a beat, and our stay was as perfect as ever in this beautiful, old but supremely comfortable hotel in a lovely town.’

Traditional and cosy, it’s a storybook location for a wedding, catering for anything from two to 60 guests in the hotel restaurant, up to 90 extending across to the conservatory or up to 150 guests in a marquee in the grounds.

History, opulence and a tantalising whiff of scandal enrich a stay at this palatial Italianate mansion in National Trust gardens and parkland.

The real charm of this grand country house, with sweeping gardens, terraces, oak panelling and swish spa, lies in its warm and informal atmosphere.

This former 17th-century inn, which is part of the Duke of Devonshire's 30,000-acre estate at Bolton Abbey, is today an impressive country house hotel, with fine dining and a spa.

In the fine tradition of a town-centre hostelry, this ivy-smothered inn hums with energy, as people drop in for drinks and snacks in the buzzy lounge, bar or patio garden.

The handsome Georgian coaching inn, in the centre of Abergavenny, ‘the Gateway to Wales’, has been whisked into a smart townhouse hotel with convivial bar, interesting menus and cheerful staff.

A cosy beamed pub is the warm heart of this hotel, in the shelter of wooded, red sandstone cliffs that reminded the young Queen Victoria of ‘a ballet or a play where nymphs appear’.

A Roman Doric portico makes a swanky statement about this Grade II listed Georgian house, but within lies a stylish yet relaxed and fun boutique hotel.

There is space for up to 65 guests to attend a ceremony, while the grounds would accommodate a marquee for up to 120 guests at your reception. Smaller receptions can also take place inside the hotel with guests enjoying the chance to roam from the bar to the snug.

Highly idiosyncratic and seriously fun, Hannah Springham and Andrew Jones’s hotel features bedrooms themed on the Georgian Grand Tour and Victorian global gallivanting.

More a stylish gastropub than a community hub, this historic inn has a following of foodies, who rave about its 'delicious meals'.

Close to Sherborne Abbey, this handsome Georgian town house in ‘lovely’ walled gardens makes a ‘pleasant retreat’ in the heart of the historic market town.

Approached down a mile-long avenue of lime and beech trees, this ‘very grand and lovely’ Palladian mansion exults in 500 acres of parkland and gardens.

In a ‘beautiful’ setting, Jan and Adam Moore’s dog-friendly country hotel in an 18th Century sporting lodge looks out over the hills and is surrounded by trees.

The epitome of tweed chic, two handsomely refurbished Victorian villas – Dunstane House, and Hampton House, opposite – make up one smart hotel, in a peaceful area just beyond the city centre.

A romantic Elizabethan-style Edwardian mansion, built for a Manchester cotton bleacher and set in landscaped gardens, is the epitome of a well-run country house hotel.

Thirty acres of parkland surround this Georgian merchant's manor house in the Norfolk countryside, renowned for its fragrant garden of 400 herb varieties.

In 'one of the most idyllic spots ever', this dog-friendly hotel 'near the end of an extremely narrow lane' overlooks cliff-top gardens filled with larky sculpture and Wonderland whimsy.

Playing Kings and Queens is more than a fantasy at this Tudor castle 'where you can feel the history in the thick walls', along with turrets, oriel windows, spiral staircase and grand fireplaces.

From an intimate ceremony in the Paris Room to a large gathering in the Terrace restaurant, with Gertrude Jekyll-inspired gardens outside and four-poster suites above, this New Forest hotel can lay on the full Monty.

With views over meadows and marshes to the sea, this hotel with award-winning dining bedazzles with its vibrant interiors within the walls of a Victorian farmhouse.

The superb setting of the Nye family's hotel overlooking salt marshes to the sea and Scolt Head Island is matched by a 'really good atmosphere', say readers, who visit year after year.

An Italianate mansion in landscaped gardens and pleasure grounds is today ‘a lovely, classic country house hotel with a modern, quirky feel’.

The chapel, a French drawing room, medieval hall, gardens and nearby church are at your disposal if you wed at this battlemented ancient pile. Relax in the spa beforehand, party in the Bank Barn, sleep in a four-poster room.

While some of us bring home a fridge magnet or a Cornishware mug, businessman Andrew Long has gone one better and bought a hotel.

‘Highly recommended for a special occasion’, this Victorian Scottish baronial hotel on a 28-acre estate combines luxury with unforced family- and dog-friendliness.

'Nothing seems too much trouble' at this turreted 1920s mansion, one of Scotland’s first country house hotels, which has been owned by the same family for 70 years.

'The location is stunning, with views of the Devon coast with its sandy beaches and tumbled rocks,’ writes a reader delighted by this family-friendly hotel, promoted from the Shortlist this year.

A ‘really good experience’, Dee and Richard Slade’s ‘well-run’ hotel, restaurant and village pub stand out for their ‘laudable’ approach to sustainable tourism.